San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
5 best late-night dining options
Waffles to shawarma, satisfying dishes await when hunger hits after midnight
Used to be, the joke about 24-hour restaurants was they couldn’t close even if they wanted to, because they lost the keys a long time ago. I guess everybody found their keys.
San Antonio’s reliable 24hour sit-down standbys — Mi Tierra Cafe y Panadería in Market Square and a network of Jim’s Restaurants across the city — aren’t open 24 hours right now. You can thank COVID for that, along with the lingering labor shortage.
But sometimes you just want to sit down, have a bite and shake off the party adrenaline before you head home. Or head back out. So where can you eat after midnight that’s not a Whataburger drive-thru or a taco truck in somebody’s parking lot?
We’re not talking about allnight chains like Denny’s or IHOP, but local restaurants with personalities that fit their neighborhoods. I found five that offer indoor sit-down service past midnight, doing everything from tacos and waffles to burgers, pizza, Korean food and shawarma.
And while none stays open all night, they’re staying up long enough to keep you going.
Arirang
With rice and fat and beef and heat, Korean food is perfect for soaking up the night, and Arirang on Austin Highway is there for you six nights a week. While this family-run restaurant is dark and quiet, there’s a riot of color happening on the table. Dolsot bibimbap is an artist’s palette of distinct patches of sprouts, greens, carrots, radish, beef and raw egg over rice. The magic happens when you swirl it into a kaleidoscope of flavor that’s comforting and exhilarating at the same time.
The cute college-age couple at the next table asked the waiter if the seven little dishes of potatoes, kimchi, pickled radish, fish cakes and other delicacies she brought to the table were samples. I’ve never thought of banchan that way, but it works. Supplement your samples with a steaming bowl of kimchi soup with tofu and a fortifying plate of steamed eggs as fluffy as a French omelet.
2154 Austin Highway, 210-6503845, arirang-san-antonio.com. Hours: The restaurant is open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily except Tuesday, when it’s closed. The kitchen is open until 1:30 a.m. Monday and Wednesday through Saturday; open until 1 a.m. Sunday.
Cuishe Cocina Mexicana
If your night doesn’t begin or end until the tacos al pastor show up, Cuishe is your Stone Oak destination on Friday and Saturday nights after midnight.
There, they roast tangy achiote-spiced pork on a trompo rotisserie and shave it to order with pineapples, onions and cilantro on handmade corn tortillas. They’re like street
tacos served in a stylish, thumping Mexican nightclub, with Ricky Martin and Shakira shimmering across the video screens.
The late-night menu on Fridays and Saturdays also includes rich stewed beef tongue with tortillas, a toasted al pastor torta and roasted potatoes for the after-hours carbs you need to balance out a strong mezcal cocktail with blood orange and ginger beer.
115 N. Loop 1604 E., Suite 1108, in Stone Oak, 210-960-8935, cuishemx.com. Late-night hours: On Fridays and Saturdays, Cuishe is open from noon to 2 a.m. A one-page bar menu of tacos and small plates kicks in at 11:45 p.m. and is served until 1:30
a.m.
Francis Bogside
A bar and grill that doesn’t serve food after midnight? We call that just a bar. Southtown’s Francis Bogside defies that notion by keeping the kitchen open every night until about 1:20 or 1:30 a.m., depending on which barkeep you ask on which night.
It serves solid, dependable
bar food, including a juicy double cheeseburger done smashburger style, good chicken wings slathered in Thai curry paste, and a respectable pizza with sausage and bell peppers on a crust thick enough to hold up on its own or fold if that’s what you’re into.
Francis Bogside pours a proper pint of Guinness, and seating options range from bar stools to high-tops by the bandstand to cozy booths in which to conjure up more late-night adventures.
803 S. St. Mary’s St., 210-3699192, francisbogside.com. Hours: 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, with the kitchen open until about 1:20 or 1:30 a.m.
Habibi Cafe
It’s an unlikely sight in Alamo Heights: A cafe full of young people lounging inside and on the broad patio after midnight, smoking hookah pipes as clouds of smoke swirl around their heads. It’s BYOB, and the couple in front of me was rocking a 12-pack of tangerine White Claw to go with their apple-scented tobacco.
The hookah pipes have an enticing menu of their own, but a full menu of Mediterranean food standards is an even stronger reason to hit Habibi, especially a chicken shawarma wrap in crispy pita bread served with fresh cucumber-tomato salad and rice. A full spread might include fragrant stuffed grape leaves, supple slices of lamb and beef gyro, flaky baklava and a strong, long-handled pot of cardamom-scented Turkish coffee to keep you rolling.
5306 Broadway, 210-437-0242, Facebook: @heightshookah cafeSA. Hours: 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, with the kitchen open until 1:30 a.m.
Luther’s Cafe
If you need a good, old-fashioned American diner breakfast at 1 a.m. on a Friday, or if your ego needs a boost from the waitstaff calling you “honey” and “sweetie,” Luther’s is the answer. This LGBTQ-friendly hangout near San Antonio college is like an indoor-outdoor house party that serves cheeseburgers and frozen Jack-andCokes and puts on a drag show every Friday and Saturday at 9 p.m.
The hearty Breakfast Platter includes two eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast, and the allday breakfast menu includes good snack-size chicken-andwaffle sandwiches and overstuffed breakfast tacos, including the crazy-quilt migas action of the S.A. Style taco.
1503 N. Main Ave., 210-2237727, lutherscafe.com. Late-night hours: 11 a.m. until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.